JORDAN VALLEY, West Bank (Reuters) – Amid the barren hills of the Jordan Valley, Palestinian artist Khadeeja Bisharat paints scenes of bulldozers and demolitions, a reflection of fears of what may happen to her isolated Bedouin community if Israel annexes land... More »
READING, England (Reuters) – The English town of Reading held a minute’s silence on Monday for the victims of a stabbing that killed three people including an American in the latest terrorism-linked attack. Three people were also hospitalised after a man wield... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian officials tried to contain a fresh outbreak of the novel coronavirus on Monday, telling residents in the cluster hotspots to avoid travel outside their suburbs in Melbourne, the country’s second-largest city. Victoria state of whi... More »
TULSA, Okla. (Reuters) – President Donald Trump, addressing a less-than-full arena for his first political rally in months, blasted anti-racism protests and defended his handling of the coronavirus on Saturday in a bid to reinvigorate his re-election campaign.... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – There won’t be any moshing going on, but entertainment company Live Nation Entertainment are rolling out a series of gigs across the UK where fans can be together to get their fix of live events from the safety of their own designated area. ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson, actor Zac Efron and British star Benedict Cumberbatch are among celebrities who will be getting a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 2021. Shia LaBeouf, Missy Elliott and “American Pie” singer-son... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Boarded-up shops, a depressing sight for New Yorkers after looters infiltrated anti-racism marches in the city’s trendiest neighborhoods, are being transformed into canvases of hope with paintbrushes wielded by a small army of artists. The... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is urging writers, dancers, poets and other artists to help make the names of abusive police officers as well known as their victims. Media company ARRAY, founded by DuVernay, has launched the Law Enforcement Acco... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Many directors would have been devastated when their plans to show their first feature at the Cannes Film Festival were wrecked by the spread of COVID-19. But Lebanon’s Jimmy Keyrouz said he took heart from the themes of his movie “Broken Ke... More »
HAVANA (Reuters) – Ever since the novel coronavirus reached Cuba, a tall cardboard box with arms and legs can be seen tottering around a Havana suburb, popping into the bakery or butchers, or browsing the newspaper stand. This is Feridia Rojas, 82, who decided... More »
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungarian artist Jozsef Szurcsik lost four of his friends in a matter of weeks to COVID-19 and the tremendous pain and grief he feels has transformed his art. Szurcsik, who teaches at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts and is one of the... More »
KYIV (Reuters) – A wealthy Ukrainian politician has made public a manuscript in his private collection that he says is a fragment of the Gutenberg Bible, the world’s first substantial printed book, although researchers said it would need to be authenticated. T... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Brussels added to its large collection of murals on Thursday with a newly commissioned work in memory of African-American George Floyd, whose killing by police has sparked global protests against racism and police violence. Belgian-Congole... More »
CHONBURI, Thailand (Reuters) – Volunteer pet groomer Kriengkai Thatwakorn is thrilled to be back helping out stray dogs in Thailand, some in urgent need of a shearing after waiting three sweltering months for a trim. A domestic travel ban to contain the novel ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Long queues of shoppers snaked around stores in England on Monday, with discount fashion retailer Primark proving a particular draw as shops reopened their doors after 83 days of lockdown. Queues formed from early morning outside several bra... More »
PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain (Reuters) – Hundreds of sunseekers from Germany landed on the Spanish island of Mallorca on Monday, the first tourists allowed into the country since borders were shut in March to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1,500 German... More »
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – U.S.-based Congolese fashion designer Anifa Mvuemba was excited about debuting her fashion line, Hanifa, at this year’s New York Fashion Week. But when her show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mvuemba got creative. The 29-y... More »
(Reuters) – Daniel Berger emerged from a tightly-bunched leaderboard to win the PGA Tour’s first tournament back after a three-month COVID-19 break with a playoff victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday. Berger, who needed a bird... More »
(Reuters) – Commissioner Jay Monahan said on Sunday the PGA Tour’s return from a three-month COVID-19 shutdown was off to a phenomenal start and that he will share information about its safety measures with other sports looking to restart play. Monahan, speaki... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Days into nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, demonstrators began to fill a tall fence in front of the White House with posters, flowers, paintings and photos in honor of black men, women and children who have lost thei... More »
CAMDEN, N.J. (Reuters) – Zsakhiem James, a police captain in Camden, New Jersey – once considered the most dangerous city in the United States – sees every encounter with a resident as an opportunity to build “social currency” to prevent or solve a future crim... More »
KISUMU (Reuters) – Hundreds of Kenyans defied tear gas and riot police on Friday to carry off the body of a popular singer, trying to prevent a swift burial under rules for suspected coronavirus cases which the crowd said would be disrespectful. Mourners and f... More »
QALQILYA, West Bank (Reuters) – Peacocks, ostriches and baboons joined in an animal baby boom at a Palestinian zoo during the coronavirus closure as they let nature take its course free from human distractions. Fifteen animals were born at the tiny Qalqilya Zo... More »
HANOI (Reuters) – Stuck at home with school suspended, Nguyen Doi Chung Anh made the most of a lockdown in Vietnam by using art to demonstrate tragedy, resilience and chaos in the world’s battle against the coronavirus. The work of 10-year-old Chung Anh shows ... More »
POSTOJNA, Slovenia (Reuters) – Three rare aquatic creatures known as baby dragons are going on display in an aquarium at Slovenia’s Postojna Cave, one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. The cave-dwelling animals, officially called proteus or olms, h... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The coronavirus lockdowns have hit the world’s museums very hard and more than 10 percent may never reopen while others will have to put new projects on hold, the United Nations’ cultural body UNESCO said. A survey of almost 1,600 museums in ... More »
ROME (Reuters) – A mural by secretive British street artist Banksy stolen from the Bataclan theater in Paris, where Islamist gunmen killed 90 people in 2015, has been found in a farmhouse in central Italy, police said on Thursday. The work, one of a series of ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French police have taken away an emaciated lion from a circus in Vironvay, western France, following complaints from an animal rights organization. The prefecture for the Eure region said in a statement the lion had been seized as the circus ... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The world’s largest population of nesting green turtles is nearly twice as big as previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday, after drones enabled better surveys of the animals. Australian scientists determined that there were about 64... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Mira Robotics developed its “ugo” robot to reinforce greying Japan’s shrinking workforce, but as the coronavirus threat persists, the Japanese startup is offering its machine as a tool in the fight against the outbreak, the company’s CEO said... More »
GRADISKA, Bosnia (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant, the 18-time NBA All-Star who died in a helicopter crash in January, has been honored with a giant mural commissioned by sports enthusiasts and painted on the side of an elementary school building in northern Bosnia. “K... More »
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Thousands of mourners braved sweltering Texas heat on Monday to view the casket of George Floyd, whose death after a police officer knelt on his neck ignited worldwide protests against racism and calls for reforms of U.S. law enforcement. A... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Dancers from Britain’s Royal Ballet have made a short film in which they perform in London’s deserted streets to the sounds of The Rolling Stones, a project designed to highlight the plight of the arts during the global coronavirus pandemic.... More »
(Reuters) – A massive “Black Lives Matter” mural was painted in yellow letters on a street near the White House on Friday, ahead of expected large demonstrations on Saturday to protest racism and police brutality in the United States. The huge mural occupies t... More »
(Reuters) – Actress Cate Blanchett suffered an accident with a chainsaw during the coronavirus lockdown with her family, she revealed during a podcast. The Oscar-winning star of films like “Blue Jasmine” and “Aviator” gave no details about the mishap but said ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – An art gallery in Paris has sought inspiration in ancient China to help it enforce social distancing, by providing hats with winged extensions for visitors. The colourful papier-mâché hats are modelled on headgear from the Song dynasty, which... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – London’s world-famous Abbey Road Studios reopened on Thursday after closing its doors during the coronavirus lockdown for the first time in its 90-year history. Celebrated for recording the likes of Edward Elgar, The Beatles and Lady Gaga, t... More »
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Scientists in Sweden are hoping an alpaca named Tyson can help deliver a knockout blow in the fight to develop a treatment or vaccine against the novel coronavirus that has killed nearly 400,000 people worldwide. After immunizing Tyson, a... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – A Madrid flamenco bar that has played host to some of Spain’s top performers, including an early-career set from Grammy-award winner Rosalia, is shutting down as audiences dwindle in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. For nearly 40 years ... More »
WALENSTADT, Switzerland (Reuters) – Two Swiss conceptual artists are offering seven open air “hotel rooms” this summer across a “performance space” encompassing eastern Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Guests “perform”, without an audience, by spending the night... More »
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – If you’ve ever dreamed of being in the Sistine Chapel without feeling like you are craning your neck in a packed open-top tourist bus, now is your chance. The Vatican Museums re-opened to the public on Monday after being closed for nea... More »
BILBAO, Spain (Reuters) – Two dozen visitors queued to get their temperatures taken at the entrance to Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum on Monday as it became the first of Spain’s major cultural centres to reopen its doors after a long lockdown due to the coronaviru... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – The manager of South Korea’s popular boyband BTS has apologised on behalf of one of its members who went to a bar in April, contrary to government advice, just as the country is trying to contain a recent coronavirus outbreak around Seoul’s c... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Stuck at home with the kids? Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Cate Blanchett may be able to help. Oscar-winning New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi has lined up some of his Hollywood friends by videolink from their living rooms for a ... More »
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – He rose from South Africa’s poorest province to become one of the world’s most successful DJs, entertaining millions in dance clubs all over the globe, but the COVID-19 lockdown has got DJ Black Coffee wondering about the future of the... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police on Monday charged a German student with breaking into a Sydney museum as security footage showed him allegedly taking selfies next to dinosaur exhibits. New South Wales (NSW) Police said that Paul Kuhn broke into the Austra... More »
OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) – On stage in an empty auditorium, backed by starry lights, Patrick Kabre plucks his electric guitar and sings through a microphone to an audience many miles away. Kabre is contributing to COVID-Live, a series of sessions by musicians bro... More »
WARSAW (Reuters) – Lovers of Frederic Chopin’s music who usually flock to a central Warsaw park on Sundays for open-air concerts will have to go online this season to hear the weekly performances because of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the corona... More »
BOGOTA (Reuters) – This time there are no lights, cameras, dressing rooms or the hundreds of people who usually crowd a film shoot. There is just a mobile phone, a tripod, a bathroom and “Action!” Colombian director Harold Trompetero, who has directed 21 films... More »
(Reuters) – Country music star Keith Urban performed a surprise live show at a drive-in movie theater in Nashville in a test drive for how concerts might look in the era of social distancing. Urban, on stage with just one other musician, played at the Stardust... More »
LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigerian fashion designer Sefiya Diejomaoh likes to wear bright, bold clothes to match her personality. She believes a global pandemic should not get in the way of her sense of style. The mask she wears, which has become compulsory attire as ... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean authorities were combing through mobile phone data, credit card statements and CCTV footage on Tuesday to identify people who visited nightclubs at the centre of one of the capital’s biggest novel coronavirus clusters. More than ... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Usually at this time of year Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring is packed as matadors take on lethal half-tonne bulls in daily fights during the annual San Isidro festival. But plazas across Spain are empty this season as the coronavirus epidemic ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) on Tuesday said it expects profit to drop 80% to its lowest in nine years, as Japan’s biggest automaker grapples with the impact of the novel coronavirus which has sapped global demand for vehicles. Global automaker... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jerry Stiller, who played two of American television’s most cantankerous fathers on the sitcoms “Seinfeld” and “The King of Queens,” has died aged 92, his son Ben Stiller said on Twitter on Monday. “I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Sti... More »
(Reuters) – Kurt Cobain’s cardigan sold for a record $334,000 last year. Now the acoustic guitar the punk rocker played for Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged” session, just five months before his death, is expected to fetch around $1 million at auction in June. Julien’... More »
LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigerian comedian Maryam Apaokagi has a sure-fire way of getting people to listen to her coronavirus health advice – she delivers it with a hard slap in the face. The 21-year-old has joined a line-up of the nation’s top performers working hea... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Thousands of visitors streamed into Shanghai Disneyland on Monday for the first time in three months as the Chinese park became the first reopened by Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) after the coronavirus pandemic brought the Magic Kingdom to a stan... More »
(Reuters) – Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll” who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87. Richard, a Grammy Award winner and inductee ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins will stream a concert from an empty Royal Albert Hall on Friday evening, as locked-down Britain marks the 75th anniversary of “Victory in Europe” Day. Millions of people held a two-minute silence while m... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will ease social distancing restrictions in a three-step process, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as Canberra aims to remove most curbs by July and get nearly 1 million people back to work amid a decline in coronaviru... More »
(Reuters) – The last “supermoon” of 2020 rose in the night sky on Thursday over a world beginning to re-emerge after weeks of coronavirus-related lockdowns. The supermoon phenomenon occurs when the moon is within 10% of its closest distance to the Earth at the... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – As Thailand’s capital cautiously reopens many restaurants shuttered over coronavirus fears, the feline “employees” of the Caturday Cafe are back at work. The few dozen friendly cats typically lounge around the cafe, breaking up naptime to s... More »
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – The days of English football’s once notorious drinking culture are long gone and few professionals would now list the once obligatory ‘steak and chips’ as their favourite meal but things are moving to a different level entirely ... More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Chewy and Miley, both two-year-old Schnauzer dogs, are getting their hair cut at a groomer in Bangkok for the first time since the new coronavirus outbreak began in Thailand in January. Pet grooming shops are among a handful of businesses t... More »
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba’s artists are rising to the occasion during the coronavirus lockdown, taking to rooftops and balconies to create music or dance. A pair of twins in the Acosta Dance Company are stuck at home after the troupe’s world tour was suddenly ca... More »
MONTREAL (Reuters) – The major Canadian province of Quebec, among the worst hit by the coronavirus, started gradually restarting its economy on Monday while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau maintained his cautious stance. Quebec is allowing stores with an outside... More »
MILAN (Reuters) – Luxury sports car maker Ferrari (RACE.MI) still expects to make more than $1 billion in core profit this year, providing a relative beacon of stability in an auto industry ravaged by the coronavirus crisis. The company, known for its red Form... More »
ROME/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Italy and the United States were among a slew of countries easing lockdown restrictions on Monday to resurrect economies, but officials cautioned against moving too swiftly as global deaths from the coronavirus neared a quarter of a... More »
BERN (Reuters) – Environmental activists delivered a petition to a special session of the Swiss parliament on Monday demanding that a government aid package should promote a “green recovery” from the coronavirus crisis. With some lawmakers wearing protective f... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – World leaders launched a pledging “marathon” on Monday – without the United States – to raise at least $8 billion for research into a possible vaccine and treatments for the coronavirus. Organisers included the European Union, non-EU state... More »
MANILA (Reuters) – Dressed as “Star Wars” characters, local officials in the Philippines are out and about to enforce strict quarantine measures while also handing out relief packages. With Darth Vader and Stormtrooper outfits made from rubber mats and old pla... More »
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand and Australia are discussing the potential creation of a “travel bubble” between the two countries, even as Australia on Monday reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in two weeks. New Zealand Prime Minister ... More »
ROME (Reuters) – Grandparents hugged their grandchildren, toddlers rushed excitedly through parks and factories revived their long-stalled production lines as Italy started the slow process of unwinding Europe’s longest coronavirus lockdown. Nearly two months ... More »
LAGOS (Reuters) – Two dozen Lagos healthcare workers in scrubs and face masks rushed outside the isolation tents and, making sure to keep six feet apart on the bright green grass, danced and swayed as a saxophone and trumpet struck up the band. Inside the tent... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – American tennis player Taylor Fritz and his doubles partner, Tik Tok personality Addison Rae, won the virtual Stay At Home Slam on Sunday as real-life tennis remains on hold because of the coronavirus crisis. The likes of the Williams sisters... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two NASA astronauts gearing up to ride SpaceX’s new space taxi will now be on a mission planned to last more than a month, instead of a week, to help the short-handed crew aboard the International Space Station, the U.S. space agency sai... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Friday asked the Senate to find any documents tied to an allegation he sexually assaulted a former aide in 1993, after personally denying the accusation publicly for the first time... More »
(Reuters) – For a glimpse at how Disney recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, look no further than Shanghai, where the entertainment giant has staged a limited reopening of Shanghai Disney Resort. Adults, kids and senior citizens wear masks while wandering a... More »
(Reuters) – Some of Britain’s top comedians are joining forces to raise money for pubs shut down by the coronavirus, by hosting an online virtual pub quiz with a plan to set a new world record. Russell Howard, Nish Kumar, Jon Richardson, Joel Dommett, Marcus B... More »
CHAMBLON, Switzerland (Reuters) – In the battle against coronavirus, Swiss soldiers are using smartphones to test a new contact tracing application that could prevent infections while also protecting users’ privacy. Switzerland hopes to launch the app on May 1... More »
MOUSCRON, Belgium (Reuters) – With potato farmers and processors struggling, Belgians are being urged to eat more fries to offset a slump in demand during the coronavirus pandemic. Belgium is the world’s largest exporter of fries and other frozen potato produc... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – One of the world’s largest lunar meteorites goes on private sale at Christie’s on Thursday, valued at 2 million pounds ($2.49 million). The moon rock, weighing over 13.5 kg, was probably struck off the surface of the moon by a collision with... More »
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – It’s not every day that the face of a chief epidemiologist is inked as a tattoo. But then it’s not every country that has tackled the coronavirus pandemic like Sweden. Anders Tegnell was until the start of the crisis an unknown civil serv... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns to work on Monday to the biggest dilemma of his premiership: how to lift the coronavirus lockdown that is destroying swathes of the British economy without triggering a deadly second wave of the outbreak.... More »
ATLANTA (Reuters) – With the U.S. coronavirus death toll topping 51,000 and nearly one in six workers out of a job, Georgia, Oklahoma and several other states took tentative steps at reopening businesses on Friday, despite disapproval from President Donald Tru... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that ultraviolet light could be inserted into coronavirus patients was widely panned on Friday, but a California company thinks it’s a perfect solution for decontaminating airplanes. Dimer UCV Innovations cr... More »
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Six dancers from the Dutch National Ballet headed out into the empty streets of Amsterdam this week to perform their parts in a piece of choreography inspired by the coronavirus lockdown. Each put on a solo performance out in the open, so... More »
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A six-foot image of a sad-eyed man, baseball cap askew and mask covering his nose and mouth is spray painted on a building in a Nairobi slum. Next to it are the words “Corona is real”. There are six other pieces of graffiti like it around M... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Banksy’s “Girl with a Pierced Eardrum” has been updated for the coronavirus era with the addition of a blue surgical face mask. The mural, a take on Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” but with a security alarm replac... More »
(Editor’s note: paragraph 7 contains language that some readers may find offensive) LONDON (Reuters) – The Rolling Stones gave their fans some satisfaction on Thursday by releasing a new track “Living in a Ghost Town”, part-recorded during the coronavirus lock... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Coronavirus quarantine has supermodel Naomi Campbell reinventing herself as a talk show host with the new series “No Filter with Naomi.” The catwalk queen is chatting live on YouTube every day with some of her famous friends, including Vog... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Wearing a dress she made of eight giant plastic inflatable roses over a wire structure and a headpiece crowned by a globe, Chinese performance artist Kong Ning is using fashion to draw attention to environmental protection on Earth Day. “Ro... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Goldie Hawn, her daughter Kate Hudson and baby granddaughter Rani Rose Fujikawa graced the cover of “People” magazine’s annual Beautiful issue on Tuesday. It was the first time that three generations had appeared on the Beautifu... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Kelly Rowland, Halle Berry and Anthony Anderson are among a host of black celebrities taking on the coronavirus epidemic as the disease continues to disproportionately affect minorities in the United States. The actors and singers will tak... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VAH.AX) on Tuesday succumbed to third-party led restructuring that could lead to a sale, making Australia’s second-biggest airline the Asia-Pacific region’s biggest victim of the coronavirus crisis gripping the... More »
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) – The U.S. debate over restrictions for fighting the coronavirus intensified on Monday, as protesters labeled mandatory lockdowns as “tyranny,” while medical workers and health experts cautioned that lifting them too soon risked unlea... More »
(Reuters) – Two young girls in Italy took their tennis games to a higher level despite a nation-wide coronavirus lockdown as they staged a remarkable rally from the rooftops of neighbouring buildings. The girls in the Ligurian town of Finale Ligure coolly mana... More »
(Reuters) – From tinkling harmonies as the virus disarms cells to clashing and stormy as it replicates, U.S. scientists have translated the novel coronavirus’ spiked protein structure to music in an effort to better understand the pathogen. Professor Markus Bu... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Indigenous elders from Alaska to Australia have come together to deliver some tough love in a new film for Earth Day: the human race will only survive if we start putting our minds at the service of our hearts. Produced by Academy and Emmy a... More »
